Amish Friendship Bread

 

Those of you of certain age may recall back in the 70's and 80's there was a trend where home bakers were making Amish Friendship Bread.  The deal was that it was similar to sourdough bread in that there was always a cup or so of starter each week that either had to be thrown out as one replenished the original starter OR....the excess was shared with friends along with the recipe, thus the title of this delicious bread.

I received numerous starters from people I worked with and I know I made the bread, but I don't recall ever keeping the starter going or sharing it with others. I recall enjoying this quick bread but totally forgot about it until I was recently perusing through a newly purchased Cook's Country cookbook and came upon a recipe for Friendship Bread that doesn't require a starter batter.  It's a straight forward recipe, utilizing lot's of cinnamon and sugar. I added raisins to one of the loaves and I think you could add any other dried fruit or nuts to your liking. Your home will smell amazing while this is baking. The recipe makes 2 loaves; one for you and one to share with a friend!

 

Amish Friendship Bread

3½ cups granulated sugar, divided use

1 tablespoon PLUS 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided use

1⅓ cups PLUS 2 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided use

3¾ cups all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1¾ cups milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

In a small bowl, thoroughly combine ½ cup of the sugar and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon; set aside.

Brush 2 (8½-by-4½-inch) metal loaf pans with vegetable oil, using 1 teaspoon per pan. Add 2 tablespoons of the cinnamon-sugar to each loaf pan and tilt to coat the bottom and sides evenly; set pans and remaining cinnamon-sugar aside.

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining 3 cups sugar, the 3¾ cups flour, the remaining tablespoon cinnamon, the baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, the remaining 1⅓ cups vegetable oil and the vanilla extract.

Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy. Divide batter between the prepared pans. Divide and sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup cinnamon-sugar over the batter in each pan.

Bake 65 to 70 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center of each loaf comes out clean. Cool loaves in pans on a wire rack for 1 hour. Run a paring knife or offset spatula around the edges of the loaves to loosen. Gently tilt pans to remove each loaf. Serve warm or at room temperature. Loaves will keep wrapped in foil for up to 3 days.

Makes 2 loaves.

Recipe adapted from Cook's Country December/January 2019